Northwest CL Regionals

Northwest CL Regionals

Convening for the 16th time this year, west coast modelers once again met in Eugene, Oregon to compete in almost every phase of Control Line competition. — Mike Hazel

Overview

If it was Control Line action you wanted, Eugene was the place to be on Memorial Day weekend, 1987. This traditional event remains the largest Control Line competition on the West Coast: 74 entrants and over 200 event entries made for an impressive showing. With more than 25 events, the Regionals is viewed by regulars as more than just a contest — it's a celebration, a Control Line party. Entrants came from the western states and Canada, and many noncompetitive modelers and spectators attended as well.

Site and facilities

The meet was held at the Eugene Municipal Airport, just a bell‑crank's throw from the full‑scale field, which simplifies travel for those flying in. The compact layout of the flying site makes it easy to get from circle to circle or event to event. Other amenities included excellent spectator viewing, good shade trees, plenty of room for display and judging areas, on‑site camping, a concession stand, and a well‑stocked hobby store in a truck.

The meet is hosted by the local Eugene Prop Spinners club and run with assistance from Northwest area clubs and individuals, including the Seattle Skyraiders, Portland Aeroliners, and the North Coast CLAMS. Dave Green was the Contest Director this year.

Schedule and early flying

In recent years a third day has been added to ease scheduling, and this year Friday, May 22, was the first day. Official flying on opening day was limited to Speed events, giving Speed entrants two days to make attempts and still try other events. Other competitors were welcome to practice on Friday while Speed flying began at noon. Friday's weather was cool but reasonable, with temperatures in the upper 60s.

Speed events

Some winning Speed flights were posted Friday. Bill Nusz (Lancaster, CA) posted the fastest Class D time of the meet at 195.57 mph, which also turned out to be the fastest official time of the event. His ship featured a Newton glass fuselage, top‑sheet aluminum wings, an OS .65 engine modified by Glen Dye, a Rev‑Up 9x13 prop, a uniflow pressure tank, and 75% nitro fuel.

Bill also posted the fastest official Jet time Friday at 192.64 mph with a Super Burp design (Model Aviation plans #243); he had reworked the Dyna‑Jet engine along lines detailed in the Model Aviation construction article (December 1978).

Dick Peterson (Seattle) turned in a winning Formula 40 time of 154.31 mph using The Move (designed by Mike Hazel) powered by a K&B 6.5 front‑intake engine. His final flight featured careful needle‑valve tuning that produced the top result.

A television news cameraman provided unintentional slapstick when a jet test hop sent him sprawling behind his tripod mid‑shot. Official flying was cut off at 6:00 p.m. Friday, after which some contestants socialized while others practiced until dark.

On Sunday, when the rain cleared and Speed resumed, Fred and Joyce Margarido (Fremont, CA) won Class A with a Rossi .15 powered original asymmetric design, posting 167.37 mph in cooler weather that likely kept them a bit off ideal performance. Entry was down in a few classes; the 1/2A event doubled as a Speed trial for Mouse Racer designs. Jerry Thomas and Joe Kirn battled fuel tank problems all weekend; once solved it was too late for an official time, but their unofficial end‑of‑day clocking was the fastest recorded at 196.21 mph.

Racing, Carrier, and event highlights

• Carrier events were popular, with about two dozen models in Navy paint. Profile class was especially well entered; Bob Danielson (Bothell, WA) won Profile Carrier flying a Fox .35‑powered Guardian.
• Class I Carrier was won by Roy Beers (Vancouver, WA) flying a Wildcat with K&B pumper power.
• Class II Carrier was won by Orin Humphries (Spokane, WA) flying a Super Tigre .60‑powered Corsair.
• Slow Rat: Vic "Livermore Flash" Garner dominated, winning with a time of 6:14 using an original design powered by a sleeved‑down Henry Nelson SuperTigre X‑36. Gary Crawford (Concord, CA) finished one second behind at 6:15.
• NW Super Sport (similar to Slow Rat but requiring plain‑bearing non‑Scheuneler engines and no inboard tanks) was won by Dick Salter (Seattle), with many top finishers using the K&B .35 plain‑bearing engine.
• NW Sport Race (an entry‑level race specifying kit designs and a Fox .35 Stunt engine) was won by Vic Garner.

Scale and Combat

• Profile Scale: Dave Mullens (Seattle) won with a Beechcraft Staggerwing built from Model Aviation plans (#303).
• Precision Scale (small entry): Dave Mullens won again with a Ryan STA built from a Sig RC kit. A highlight was his eight‑year‑old son Wesley flying an .049‑powered Bird Dog very well.
• Combat: Turnout was disappointing, likely because other well‑publicized meets with larger prizes drew many Combat fliers away. FAI Combat was canceled for lack of the minimum two entrants needed to make a match. Slow Combat was held and won by Dick Salter (Seattle) flying a Granderson Proctologist II with a Fox high‑powered Combat engine. Fast Combat had good entry; John Thompson took the title with a 7–0 record flying the Undertaker (Model Aviation plan #489) with a foam wing of his own design.

Precision Aerobatics (Stunt)

Precision Aerobatics began Sunday morning. Officiating was handled by Jim Parsons, Bob Barker, and Bob Emmett; Event Director Dave Gardner enlisted Don McClave and Gid Adkisson to judge the Beginner class to keep flights on schedule. PAMPA classes totaled just under 30 entries.

• Expert winner: Gid Adkisson (Clovis, CA) flying a Laser 2000 powered by a Super Tigre .60, scoring 514.
• Close runners‑up: Don McClave with 513 and Randy Schultz with 511.

Sunday afternoon weather and remaining events

A period of rain in the afternoon briefly stalled Speed flying, but once the weather cleared Speed resumed. Additional Combat and racing events were completed. The Balloon Bust, traditionally the last event of the meet, drew the largest entry of any single event with 20 contestants; Dick Salter destroyed the most balloons and was the champion of that event.

Awards and champions

Awards presentations followed the final events. The Regionals offered many very nice trophies and plenty of merchandise prizes, with good support from the hobby industry. Special Grand Champion awards recognized entrants with the highest aggregate placings:

1. Dick Salter — Grand Champion
2. Vic Garner — Second place
3. Bob Danielson — Third place

Sponsors

Major contest sponsors included:

• Cox Hobbies, Inc.
• Model Magic Products
• Eugene Toy & Hobby
• Model Builder
• Repla‑Tech
• C. B. Associates, Inc.
• Master Airscrew
• The Four M Company
• Petri Paint Company
• Carstens Publications
• Zinger Props
• Mac's Products
• Lone Star Models
• Leisure Electronics
• Top Flite, Inc.
• Coverite
• Astro Flight, Inc.
• Fox Manufacturing
• Pactra
• Satellite City
• Carl Goldberg Models
• Tower Hobbies
• Sig Manufacturing
• Motors & Memories
• Dark Ages Racing Equipment
• Carolina‑Talfe
• Model Research Laboratories
• America's Hobby Center
• American Junior Aircraft
• Virginia Craftsman
• Sullivan Products
• J&J Sales
• Flying Lines Newsletter
• A‑J's Free Flight Service
• Finesse
• Hobby Center
• Eastwood Hobby
• Midwest Products

See you next year

Be sure to circle Memorial Day weekend on your calendar for 1988 — we'll see you in Eugene!

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.